Travel Insurance Article Discussion

Mrsfrugal

I have a family holiday booked for june but my mother-in-law has terminal cancer. I'd be grateful for advice on good travel insurance just incase I need to cancel Ta

Wammer

I doubt you will be able to get cover as this is a pre-existing condition known about before the insurance was taken out.

However you could try some of the cancer charity websites such as Insure Pink, MacMillan, etc but it won't be cheap.

ceejayblue

You will definitely have to declare it to the insurance and they will then make a decision but like Wammer says, they may decline and if not they will charge you for it.

Mrsfrugal

Mrsfrugal wrote: »

I have a family holiday booked for june but my mother-in-law has terminal cancer. I'd be grateful for advice on good travel insurance just incase I need to cancel Ta

Sorry, I didn't explain properly, my mother-in-law is not going on the holiday. However, as the holiday approaches, and she is getting sicker, so I need to get holiday insurance in case I need to cancel the holiday. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, as I'm not sure how much I would get back if I were to cancel. (I wish I hadn't booked the holiday!)
Any advice would be gratefull received
Ta:o

dacouch

watchingthepennies wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a travel insurance provider that I can get cover for a holiday booked for summer 2015. The couple of insurers I've looked at online don't offer cover that far ahead yet. However as it is already booked I was under the impression it was best to get cover as soon as possible. Can anyone advise? Thanks WTP

Traditionally Travel Insurers rearrange their reinsurance in March / April (Reinsurance is Insurance they take out to insure themselves against catastrophic claims). As a result you often can't arrange cover for the following year until they release their new rates in March / April or May.

ceejayblue

It doesn't matter to the insurers that she's not going with you, if you have a relative who is ill and which means you may need to cancel you must tell the insurer otherwise they will not pay out because you knew about it but didn't declare it. Unfortunately, if you don't tell them, they will not pay out on any cancellation claim because they will ask you questions about it.

Wammer

Mrsfrugal wrote: »

Sorry, I didn't explain properly, my mother-in-law is not going on the holiday. However, as the holiday approaches, and she is getting sicker, so I need to get holiday insurance in case I need to cancel the holiday. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, as I'm not sure how much I would get back if I were to cancel. (I wish I hadn't booked the holiday!)
Any advice would be gratefull received
Ta:o

I already understood that your MIL is not travelling. As ceejayblue has already said, you still need to declare it.

You would be claiming for a medical condition of someone "on whom the travel depends" even though they were not travelling.

If you had taken out insurance at the time of booking, when she possibly wasn't as ill as she is now, you may have been able to get cover.

There are some policies which only ask that there was no known reason that you may cancel at the time the insurance was taken out. However you may struggle to get a doctor to confirm that if she is already getting sicker.

Mrsfrugal

Mrsfrugal wrote: »

I have a family holiday booked for june but my mother-in-law has terminal cancer. I'd be grateful for advice on good travel insurance just incase I need to cancel Ta

Wammer wrote: »

I already understood that your MIL is not travelling. As ceejayblue has already said, you still need to declare it.

You would be claiming for a medical condition of someone "on whom the travel depends" even though they were not travelling.

If you had taken out insurance at the time of booking, when she possibly wasn't as ill as she is now, you may have been able to get cover.

There are some policies which only ask that there was no known reason that you may cancel at the time the insurance was taken out. However you may struggle to get a doctor to confirm that if she is already getting sicker.

Thank you for your advice, I think I will go to a local Insurance Broker and explain my circumstances, and see what they can suggest:)

dutchism1958

joolzred wrote: »

A good company (but not dirt cheap) I've used is Explorer Travel Insurance based in Southend http://www.explorerinsurance.co.uk/

I've used them to cover me for a 50 day trip to south Asia and a 14 day trip to Egypt. On the Asia trip I had to get medical inpatient treatment for 3 days in Nepal and had to claim - paid up ok and no real hassles.

One really good point is that you can just phone/email the office and you'll get to speak to the owner (Ian) quite often and they made flexible amendments to our cover at no extra cost.

It cost around £260 to cover both me & my husband (I have numerous medical issues) for 7 weeks to Nepal & India - well spent when my medical treatment I had to have cost me this plus the excess of £75 - otherwise the bill would have been £400+ plus the reassurance of having repatriation/emergency flights if needed.

The conditions I wanted covered were - but they do not cover some mental health issues as is the case with most other firms.

They can quote annual policies up to age 79 - but over 80's and people with medical issues can get single trip cover on the Platinum Policy, this is what we did both times.

Hope this helps

dutchism1958

I can vouch for this-my wife is 77 and has many heart issues,we were quoted £330 for a single trip to europe for 2 weeks plus £700 excess if she had any issues related to her heart whilst on holiday.I got a quote for £143 including pre=existing medical conditions and an excess of £75 rather than £700!!So many thanks to Joolzred for this recommendation